NORTHWEST COLORADO NEWS AND SPORTS FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26TH

M.C. COMMISSIONERS TALK KIDS AT MEETING

The Moffat County Commissioners yesterday proclaimed April as the Month of the Young Child. The proclamation was brought to the board by representatives of the Moffat County Early Childhood Coalition. While there, the coalition mentioned that they could use more board members. The group says they need to representatives from the business community, and a Social Services rep. The commissioners also approved a letter of support to pursue an Energy Impact Grant from the Department of Local Affairs for new playground equipment at Loudy Simpson and Maybell Parks. The total cost of the project would be $113,465. The grant would take care of $66,465, with the rest being matched locally.

HOUSE PASSES MEASURE TO SLOW DOWN WAR ON COAL

A measure that passed the U.S. House yesterday would stop the Obama administration’s effort to re-write coal mining regulations. The Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs Act was passed on a 229-192 vote. Republicans say the administration has been developing new rules for the industry that a 2011 press report said would kill 7,000 jobs and hurt the economies of 22 states. They say those efforts show the president and his administration has waged a war on the industry. The measure passed yesterday would force the government to study the rule for five years, before recommending any changes. That would effectively delay any critical decisions until Obama has left office.

FORESTERS PRESENT PLAN TO AERIALLY SPRAY FOR CHEATGRASS

The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland (MBRTB) is proposing to treat non-native and invasive plants using a variety of methods in the future. Possible alternatives for those actions have been crafted into an Invasive Plant Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is now available for public review and comment. Adaptive management and the use of newly developed herbicides are addressed by the Draft EIS, but the main focus of the analysis is providing for the use of approved herbicides to be applied aerially. The emphasis is on controlling cheatgrass and other annual bromes on critical big-game winter ranges and enhancing native species sagebrush understories on sage-grouse habitats. Cheatgrass is a particularly aggressive invasive species that many agencies and landowners in the western United States are struggling to control. You’ll find the EIS Statement here.

SHERIFF ADVISES PEOPLE ABOUT SHEEP DOGS

The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office issued an advisory yesterday concerning sheep dogs and their puppies. A Rock Springs woman recently came upon seven Great Pyrenees puppies in the bottom of a gulch in a remote area south of the city and took them home, fearing that they had been abandoned. The pups were reported to the Sheriff’s Office, and Animal Control Officers, working with the Sheriff’s Office livestock range officer, determined that the pups’ mother was from one of the sheep camps operated by Raftopoulos Brothers Livestock, headquartered in Craig. The officers have arranged for mother and pups to be reunited. Haskell says large dogs such as Great Pyrenees, are commonly used by sheep operations, and are often found a long way from residential or business areas by people who think they’ve been dumped, but frequently they’re working sheep dogs. Officials ask that people encountering large dogs in remote areas not pick them up, but note the location and notify your local Sheriff’s Office.

TIPTON CALLS OUT WILD EARTH GUARDIANS FOR HEAVY HANDED TACTICS

Yesterday, Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) stressed that a radical litigation group was attempting to manipulate the marketplace and drive up electricity costs for rural Colorado families. During a House Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee oversight hearing, Tipton raised concerns over a recent letter addressed to the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) by Wild Earth Guardians that demands WAPA force its customers to prioritize certain sources of energy over others. Tipton says the Wild Earth Guardians have sent letters to non-federal entities that threaten litigation if they don’t take up their agenda at ratepayer expense. He says the letter singles out certain rural electric cooperatives that serve rural Colorado, and specifically targets the Craig Station, which provides over 300 jobs and produces reliable low cost energy. Pictured: Scott Tipton

Here is Tipton’s full statement: “The Wild Earth Guardians letter, which reads like a blueprint for a lawsuit, demands that WAPA force non-federal entities to take up Wild Earth Guardians agenda at ratepayer expense, and in derogation of their goals and WAPA’s core mission—which is to provide low cost energy. This litigation threat letter singles out certain rural electric cooperatives which provide power to thousands of homes and businesses in the 3rd District of Colorado, and specifically targets the Craig Generating Station,” said Tipton. “Put bluntly, Wild Earth Guardians asks that WAPA stop approving power sales to entities which continue to provide low cost, reduced emission, energy from the Craig Station in my district. This is market manipulation at its worst, and it calls on rural families and small businesses to pay the tab for Wild Earth Guardians unfounded demands.”

EPA PRESENTS CLEAN WATER ACT RULE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) yesterday jointly released a proposed rule to clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. The EPA says the proposed rule will benefit businesses by increasing efficiency in determining coverage of the Clean Water Act. The agencies are holding discussions around the country for the next 90 days, gathering the input necessary to push a final rule through. The EPA claims the proposed rule clarifies protection for streams and wetlands. The proposed definitions of waters will apply to all Clean Water Act programs. They say it does not protect any new types of waters that have not historically been covered under the Clean Water Act and claim it is consistent with the Supreme Court’s more narrow reading of Clean Water Act jurisdiction.